New Releases

Apple, the maker of the iPod, iPad, and iPhone, has been found guilty of conspiring with major book publishers to artificially raise e-book prices. A court in New York City passed down this ruling last week saying that the electronics giant worked with six major publishers to raise prices when it broke into the e-book industry in 2010. The victim of this price fixing? Consumers who had to bear the brunt of the cost, and Amazon, who through pressure from publishers, were forced to raise prices from their original $9.99 price point.

While Apple was found guilty, the court says that Apple worked hand in hand with publishers to bring an end to the $9.99 e-book, specifically targeting Amazon and its customers. This cooperation led to Amazon being forced to raise its prices and leave customers wondering why their e-books were rising in price inexplicably.

Apple has of course denied that they took part in any wrongdoing, and insist that they in fact brought innovation to the e-book market with the iPad and the iBookstore. To this day the e-book market is still dominated by Amazon, and it's device, the Kindle.

The plan was to unfold as such. Essentially, Apple struck something called "agency agreements" with the major publishers. Once these agreements were in place, they effectively legitimized the raising the prices. The next step in the plan consisted of the publishers going to Amazon with a take it or leave it agreement. Lost in all of this is the fact Amazon actually sells e-books at a loss, as they are in fact trying to establish the e-book as the premier method of obtaining the written word. Something big book publishers did not like.

Ultimately Apple chose to go to court, while five of the major publishers settled out of court. Further court hearings are scheduled to decide damages, but appeals are expected to slow down the process dramatically.

An update to Apple’s iOS 6.0 is now available for download from iTunes or over your wireless connection. Apple’s iOS 6.0.1 fixes some of the bugs that have already appeared and also provides the iPhone 5 with wireless update capability.

To download the new OS version wirelessly, go to the “Settings” menu and bring up “Software Update,” If you’re updating your iPhone 5, you’ll be asked to first download an updater for iPhone 5. This enables the wireless updates to be installed.

For older iPhone models, the iPod Touch and iPads with iOS 6 already installed, you can get the 6.0.1 update at “Settings”, “General”, “Software Update.”

Your phone’s “Learn More” gives you a screen with the information below that tells you what bugs have been fixed:

“This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air
• Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
• Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
• Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks
• Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
• Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
• Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen
• Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings”

If you’re ready to start the download, you click on a quick user agreement confirmation, and the update begins. Your phone will give you instructions for the rest.

One of the bugs that the update is supposed to fix is the one that causes static and horizontal lines on the screen when you’re downloading a new app. So, if you thought you’d caused the problem because your new iPhone 5 has already hit the concrete a couple of times, the update will offer some comfort. Add a little insurance for future whoopsies and improve you device’s bounce factor with a good case.

Samsung has been promoting the "Next Big Thing", and this time it’s the Galaxy Note 2. The phone was launched yesterday at Samsung's Galaxy Note II World Tour 2012 press event. T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon will all be carrying it. Just considering cost, timing and coverage, which service provider should get your business?

The Galaxy Note 2 has 4G LTE capability, and you don’t want it to go to waste. While Verizon beats all the competition for nationwide 4G LTE coverage (370+ markets), AT&T is rapidly expanding their 4G LTE network and is adding to their network all the time (approximately 65 markets.) Sprint basically covers Atlanta and big cities in Texas (15 markets) with their 4G LTE, the rest is 3G. T-Mobile doesn’t yet have 4G LTE connectivity, but they advertise their network as “4G”, which is really a supercharged 3G (HSPA+ 42) network.

For those buying an unlocked Galaxy Note 2, here’s a heads-up. The unlocked version isn’t compatible with CDMA carriers and LTE networks.

There’s no doubt that the Galaxy Note 2 is a fine smartphone. Its 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display is the big reason it’s being called a “phablet” – part phone, part tablet. In a nod to its tablet-ness, the Note 2 is the only smartphone that comes with a stylus that Samsung calls the” S Pen.” For those of us with big fingers or who are touchscreen accuracy-challenged, a stylus sure comes in handy.

Inside the Galaxy Note 2, you’ll find a quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos processor, up to 16GB of storage space (with expansion up to 64GB), and 2GB of RAM. On the back is a high-quality 8MP camera with an LED flash, and on the front a 1.9MP camera for video calls. The camera can record video in 1080p, and has a 4x zoom. It’s rated for up to 15 hours of talk time and 12.5 days of standby time.

Whether by accident or not, Apple seems to time its events to overshadow those of its competitors.

Here's the thing with Apple. Rumors surface, and create a little buzz, until one of its competitors announces news of their own, and the Apple rumor dies. And then wham! Apple comes out and makes the revelation everyone thought they would, trumping all the interest in whatever it was their competitor has just announced.

Pure Mobile reported yesterday that Samsung has sent out invitations for a special Galaxy Note II event in New York City scheduled for October 24. It's the kickoff to the the new device's world tour, and was likely to get the lion's share of tech reporting and headline space. Until...

Well, it turns out that the Galaxy Note II will have to share the spotlight, since Apple's just announced it will be holding an event for the iPad Mini – get this – October 23.

Likely to be unveiled October 23, Apple's iPad Mini is expected to be slightly smaller and slightly cheaper than its predecesor

When we initially reported on rumors of an iPad Mini event, we cited Forbes (among others) who said to expect invitations to start rolling out on the October 10. That makes us only a couple of days behind schedule.

A report in Fortune magazine says it’s likely that Apple will show the world its iPad Mini in a launch event on October 17th. An Apple investor claims to have heard about Apple’s plans from multiple sources and predicts that invitations to the event will go out on October 10th, we’ll have a first look at the iPad Mini on October 17th , and we could see it on the market as soon as November 2nd.

Leaked photos of the little tablet have been circulating for quite a while showing a 7.85-inch device with a rear-facing camera. The casing looks to be aluminum-backed with a front display that is similar to the current iPad’s. It will probably have a black or white bezel surrounding the screen and a home button at the bottom. There is no doubt that tablet will be set up with the new Lightning connector.

Thankfully, the iPad Mini is rumored to be priced in the range of other major tablets like Nook, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. Apple offering a tablet for around $200 will probably make everyone except Barnes and Noble, Google and Amazon very happy.

Since neither the development of a smaller version of the iPad nor any dates for the launch of the alleged device have ever been acknowledged by Apple, all this information could be completely wrong. Since we’re hearing it everywhere, we’ll just let Apple be the one to prove us right.

We’ve been hearing about the fantastic-ness of Apple’s iOS 6 for way too long, but at last it’s on the street. For those who haven’t already snapped it into your devices, it’s time to get to it.

Download yours by going to Settings > General > Software Update, or head to iTunes and pull it in. If you have any trouble with the connection to Apple or the speed of the download, Apple is pleading for patience. Between iPhone 5 pre-orders and iOS 6 downloads, Apple’s servers have been slammed.

Besides, the iOS 6 update is massive update. - clocking in at a hefty 2.5 GB. It may take some time to get an "over the air" upgrade.

Not all phone, tablet and iPod generations will be able to handle iOS 6. Older devices don’t have all the features they need to operate on a full-blown iOS 6 version You’ve got to have an iPhone 3GS or newer, iPod Touch 4th generation or newer or an iPad 2.

TechCrunch put together a great summary of what device gets what features.

Which Apple devices can manage which iOS 6 features. Chart courtesy of TechCrunch.

It’s too bad that the iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5th gen are the only devices that are up to the challenge of a fully-loaded iOS 6. But it's also one more reason to get in line for your iPhone 5 today.

The big Apple event everyone was waiting for took place today. Now we have the iPhone 5 to line up for later this month.

Here is a summary of what the iPhone 5 is all about:

A 4-inch screen with a resolution of 1,136 x 640 or 326 pixels per inch - still a “retina” display, as Apple defines it. The larger screen has a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. The iPhone 5 is a little bit longer because of this, but it accommodates six rows of apps on the screen: five rows on the “pages” along with the permanent single row along the bottom.

The case is made of aluminum and measures 7.6mm thick - 18 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S. It's also 20 percent lighter at 112 grams.

The new Retina panel is 1136 x 640, which clocks in at 326ppi. It also provides better color saturation with full sRGB rendering.

The iPhone's A6 processor has been significantly shrunk down in size yet gives more powerful performance. The claim is that it doubles CPU and graphics capabilities. The result is pages loading up 2.1x faster than iPhone 4’s speed.

The smaller processor is also more energy efficient. It should provide 8 hours of talk time even with the LTE. When using Wi-Fi you should get 10 hours of life out of the device.

The camera is about the same as the one in the iPhone 4S, just a little bit slimmer. It's a backlit 8 megapixel sensor with a 5 element lens and an f/2.4 aperture. The shutter speed is supposed to be 40 percent faster. There's also a new panoramic shooting mode.

The iWork suite, Garage Band and iMovie have all been updated.

Older apps will still work, and they’ll be displayed in a letterbox format until Apple provides an update.

Yes, the iPhone 5 has high-speed 4G LTE capability and still has HSPA+, EV-DO and EDGE capability. In the U.S., AT&T, Sprint and Verizon will all support its 4G LTE connectivity. In Canada, Rogers, Telus and Bell will also have 4G.

The launch of the iPhone 5 will undoubtedly put Apple back on top. Over the last quarter, sales of the older iPhone models have dropped significantly - from 35.1 million to 26 million. That’s all going to change now. Some analysts are predicting Apple will sell 10 million units in just the first three weeks.

If you buy an Apple iPhone 5 you’ll be something very good for the U.S. economy. The chief economist at J.P. Morgan, Michael Feroli, estimates that sales of the new iPhone could possibly add from 1/4 to 1/2 percent to the annualized growth rate of U.S. gross domestic product in the last quarter of the year. Since the nation’s total GDP is only expected to grow 2% in the last quarter, the iPhone 5 alone could make up 25% of the entire country’s economic growth!

A Feroli put it in financial geek-speak, “Calculated using the so-called retail control method, sales of iPhone 5 could boost annualized GDP growth by $3.2 billion, or $12.8 billion at an annual rate.”

Analysts at J.P. Morgan predict that Apple will sell 8 million iPhone 5s this year, each with an expected retail price of around $600. Add in a couple of adjustments to account for the fact that most of us up our carrier contracts rather than pay full retail, and the price of each phone still puts $400 into the economy.

Feroli added that his estimate for annualized growth should be taken with a grain of salt, as it “seems fairly large,” but he points out that the iPhone 4S launch a year ago significantly increased retail sales that month. Both online sales and computer sales had their largest monthly increase on record.

Remember this when you’re handing over a few hundred bucks for your new iPhone. You’re making a contribution to putting the U.S. back on the road to prosperity.

Apple’s press event, where they are expected to tell all on the new iPhone, is scheduled for Wednesday Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).

Name: You can almost bet the farm that the new name will be iPhone 5. The only other contender would be the “New iPhone”, following in the tradition of the “New iPad.”

Design: A slimmer, longer, but not as wide, case. A two-toned color scheme. Possibly a metal back like the original iPhone.

Screen: A four-inch screen with a different aspect ratio than the 4S. A 640x1,136-pixel-resolution screen would allow an extra row of icons on the home screen. This would provide apps with extra screen space above the virtual keyboard, and a better fix for HD videos in landscape mode.

Dock connector: A completely new 8-pin connector that will take up less space than the old 30-pin that’s been in use forever. The downside of losing that 30-pin dust collector - the old accessories and cables will be obsolete. Let’s hope Apple provides an adapter.

Connectivity: 4G LTE has got to be a certainty. Apple did it for the New iPad, and lack of 4G LTE wireless has been a big beef of even the most loyal Apple fans.

Processor: A couple of alternatives here. A quad-core A6 processor be a more advanced CPU than what's in the third-gen iPad’s A5X processor (with a dual-core CPU and quad-core graphics). The new iPhone might possibly have a smaller A5X processor with the same power but more compact design.

iOS 6: Many older Apple devices will get the iOS 6 upgrade, but Apple has also indicated that a few features like the new Maps app’s turn-by-turn navigation will only be available on the latest iPhone and iPad models.

What the iPhone 5 probably won’t have:

NFC might not be possible with the slimness of the case

Expect only minor camera upgrades. Apple has made significant camera improvements in the last three iPhone models. Look for smaller tweaks like multiburst or a better flash.

Other rumors have the iPad Mini or new iPods making their debuts alongside the iPhone 5. Don’t bet on it. Apple will want to get as much mileage out of the buzz with multiple new product announcements. The latest talk on the street has an iPhone launch in September, and an iPad Mini launch in October.

The iPhone 5 release is only weeks away, and Apple is already planning for turnover. If you’re willing to hand over your old iPhone 4S when it releases the new 5, Apple will give you a $345 Apple gift card.

Through its Reuse and Recycling program, Apple plans to offer the gift cards in exchange the older model. Whether or not you are eligible for the trade depends on the condition of your 4S.

The first step in determining whether you’ve got a phone that Apple wants is to get an evaluation from Apple’s online wizard. The wizard lets you select the model, color and condition of your iPhone 4S then it will crank out an estimated value of the device. Obviously, scratches, water damage, or other flaws will diminish the value of your phone.

Their Reuse and Recycling program applies to other Apple devices, including iPads, Macs and even PC computers. The program has you send in your device to Apple for assessment. They’ll determine the exchange value and get back to you. If they say it’s not eligible for reimbursement, you can still turn your device over to Apple for recycling.

Gift cards can be used at any Apple retail or online store. Although you still have to shell out the money for the iPhone 5, this is a decent way to offset the cost of all the extras you will absolutely have to have for your new device.

Just for comparison, vendors on online shopping sites like eBay have iPhone 4S inventory. Some listings show the device going upwards of $500.